Wanganui

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Heli Ride

After our adventures at Tongariro it was with great relief that we would be spending the next couple of days with some home comforts thanks to the kind hospitality of Miles & Inky the dog. Miles is a relative of my mate Rory. We stayed with Miles & Inky for two nights having arrived early in the evening after a terrific drive down from Tongariro. Apparently the locals hate the windy roads, but I love em!! The scenery was amazing, typical New Zealand countryside with big rolling hills and pretty meadows filled with grazing cows & sheep. We even had the pleasure of getting stuck in the middle of a sheep stampede!

The evening we arrived Miles treated us to a really delicious roast lamb meal over a couple glasses of wine. We talked about the country, the demographics and the relationship between the natives and the settlers. We found it funny when Miles told the story of a census that was carried out a year or two ago and how it proved a bit fruitless. They, the authorities grouped all Europeans into one category, Asians in another, listed about thirty two Maori tribes and then just to help out those that were confused, gave the option of selecting ‘Other.‘ Consequently, New Zealand is the only example where the majority of the population is specified ethnical as Other!! I also took note when he mentioned the statistic of New Zealand having the highest murder and serious crime figures in the world per capita. Still, those are just figures and we certainly haven’t encountered anything more dangerous than the activities we have been willing to pay for!

Early the next morning. 4.30am early!! We were lucky enough to get the opportunity to go up in one of the helicopters at Miles’ work. Rick was our pilot for the occasion and was great fun on our flight. He looked after us well, even with there still being a job to do. After a short flight Rick dropped us off at the edge of a valley, which gave spectacular views of the surrounding countryside as the dawn broke. Rick & his co-worker Michael would be spending the next hour or so spraying the valley below with chemicals to kill off the gauze that was getting out of hand. Our return flight got off to a flyer when Rick thought he’d test my stomach (having told him its rubbish!!) and did a swoop of the valley before banking back around to do another…..thanks mate!! Jo liked it!! We took in some more of the beautiful Wanganui countryside and coastline before returning back over the town (and spotting Miles’ house) to the airfield. Thanks to Rick and Michael for letting us tag along.

Miles then dropped us back after our little adventure and gave us a quick sightseeing tour of Wanganui, taking in the 100 year old paddle steamer, Waimarie a reminder of the towns previous life as a major riverboat operator. He also recommended a café called Amadeus where we would later sit by the river and enjoy one of their beautiful all day breakfasts. After lunch (Jo says it was brunch and I know it was too, but it sounds gay and I won’t use it!), we had a look around the town center and did a bit of card shopping for peoples up and coming birthdays.

That evening I helped Jo cook a massive lasagne, which went down great with the GGGar-lick bread and the little nap we had in the afternoon. We ended up having a fairly early night as we were still pretty tied and besides we had a long drive the next day and a ferry to catch from Wellington.

Thank you to Miles & Inky for making us feel so welcome. We look forward to catching up again back in Devon next time you visit.

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